Sunday, April 4, 2010

Weekend Wrap

History was made, my friends. And of course it comes against the Warriors. David Lee (free agent this summer) had a 30/20/10 night when he filled the box score with 37 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists in 46 minutes. According to the AP: "He became the first player to have at least 30 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists in a game since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 35, 20 and 12 against the Warriors on March 5, 1976" (hehe). What's crazy: Lee hit 14 shots out of 24, 9 free throws of 10, and still somehow dished out 10 assists (with only 3 turnovers). Talk about an offense running through someone. Sidenote - the Warriors also gave up a record game earlier in the season when Brandon Jennings scored 55 in a win over the Warriors (3rd most by a rookie in NBA history behind Wilt-58 and Earl Monroe-56).

The Lakers ended a two game losing streak to a formidable opponent, the Utah Jazz. Kobe was off hitting 5 shots of 23, but got to the line a lot: 15-18, good for 25 total points. Lamar Odom though, scored 26 points on 14 shots and grabbed 10 boards. The Lakers bench is struggling to say the least, but if and when Andrew Bynum returns, Lamar will return to the bench and Josh Powell's terribleness, one dimensional-ness will go back to getting 3 minutes a game if the Lakers are up/down by 20, instead of the 18 minutes he's capable of getting being one of the two bigs on the bench when Bynum is out, the other being DJ Mbenga.

The Raptors Chris Bosh & Associates squeaked out an OT win against Philadelphia. The Raptors are clinging onto that 8th seed in the East. Chicago is one game out. If the Raptors don't make the playoffs, or get swept by the Cavs... Chris Bosh may peace out and the Raptors will be left with Bargnani, Turkoglu, and Calderon. Oh how the free agents will be lured.

New Jersey wins their 11th! 115-87 against the lottery bound Hornets. Thank GOD. I don't think I could deal with a whole off season of the Nets constantly being referred to as the worst team in the history of the NBA (although I'll have to settle for "one of the worst teams in NBA history).

Andrew Bogut mangled his arm. This sucks. The Bucks are going to the playoffs this year and Bogut was huge part of that. Playing in his 69th game this season compared to 36 all of last season, and scoring 16 points compared to 12 last season while averaging over 10 boards. Now his season is done and the Bucks, who will probably play the Hawks in the first round had a not so inconceivable chance of upsetting, now won't have a chance. Sad face, :(, sad face, indeed.

During the Cavs game I saw that LeBron, Mo Williams and Jamario Moon were wearing green headbands... AT the Boston Celtics. Thinking this was a sign of disrespect, I did a little google research and found out that it is in fact NBA GREEN WEEK and the headbands were worn to raise awareness. Should LeBron have called a timeout when he grabbed that rebound?

The Warriors beat the Raptors-Don Nelson ties the Franchise record for coaching wins held by Lenny Wilkens, 1 more to pass. Warriors remaining sched: @Washington, @Minnesota, @Clippers, home vs Thunder, home vs Jazz, @Portland. Those first 3 games will be the time to do it, but if the Jazz and Portland are set on their playoff position and can't advance or fall down the standings, they could rest their starters giving Don Nelson the chance to pass Lenny... and then get fired this summer.

Sasha Vujacic is apparently out of the dog house. He got into the game against the Spurs, and not when they were down 20! In total he was given 6:30 and shot 0-3. Luke Walton also returned to game action after missing about a month and half due to a pinched nerve in the back: 2 assists, 2 fouls. Their bench leader, Lamar Odom, is starting due to Andrew Bynum's injured ankle. When Bynum comes back, Lamar will return to the bench, and the bench production will spike. I'm sure of it.